Boyle column: Is Marc Hunt a cheater?

In this 2013 file photoe, Asheville City Councilmen, from left, Jan Davis, Marc Hunt, and Gordon Smith participate in the Strive Not to Drive Crosstown Rumbler, a multi-modal commuter race from the UNCA campus to City Hall. They reprised their roles this year, with Hunt winning after some questionable maneuvers.
(Photo:
Citizen-Times file photo
)

Boy, has Asheville Vice Mayor Marc Hunt had a rough run in the last few weeks.

First, he got accused of gaming the system politically when it comes to the Pack Place imbroglio, and then, just a couple weeks ago, he allegedly transgressed much more egregiously, as least as far as bike-crazy Asheville is concerned.

Yes, Hunt spurned bike riding decorum.

First up, the Pack Place flap dates to April, when Hunt, City Manager Gary Jackson and an attorney representing the city went to a Pack Place board meeting. Hunt informed the Pack Place board that the night before, council, in a closed session, authorized him to request the board vote yes or no on a proposed 60-day lease extension from the city.

The city owns the downtown building, which houses the Asheville Art Museum, Colburn Earth Science Museum and Diana Wortham Theatre. The nearby YMI Cultural Center is a partner, and the now-defunct Health Adventure children’s museum used to be a tenant.

The Pack Place board questioned Hunt on the authorization and asked for a formal resolution, which he didn’t have.

That left Hunt facing questions over whether he acted within the rules.

City Attorney Robin Currin issued a statement in response.

“I have reviewed the relevant documents, and it is my opinion that Mr. Hunt’s discussions with the Pack Place Board regarding this lease extension on April 9, 2014, were authorized and lawful in all respects,” Currin said. “Council’s discussions in closed session and the closed session minutes are confidential, and I do not advise that they be made public in this or other instances. However, as stated, it is my legal opinion that Mr. Hunt and the Council acted within their authority and lawfully with regard to the Pack Place lease extension.”

Hunt said it’s “very clear” from the Pack Place meeting that he, Jackson and the attorney were authorized, from the night’s previous closed session, to represent the lease extension as they did.

“I’ve already said that publicly, and I stand by that 100 percent,” Hunt said, adding that it would be fairly ridiculous for the three of them to collude and misrepresent their authorization. “It’s one thing for a politician to get carried away and maybe stretch the truth — we see that all the time — but we’ve got very disciplined, skillful professionals in Gary Jackson and Fred Barbour (the attorney), whose careers, not just their jobs, depend on them not going around lying. It doesn’t make sense that three people are going to show up and clearly state a policy position when it wasn’t authorized.”

I tend to agree with Hunt and the city attorney on this one.

Clearly, the more egregious offense is Hunt’s performance in the big May 20 “Crosstown Rumbler,” a multimodal race among council members from UNC Asheville to City Hall designed to promote alternative forms of transportation. Hunt admits to getting a bit carried away on his bike, at one point heading the wrong direction on a city street and jumping on a sidewalk in his efforts to defeat BMW M3-driving fellow Councilman Jan Davis.

“I will confess that riding on sidewalks is a little aggressive way to ride bikes downtown,” Hunt said, adding that it is not illegal, though. “I would never do it if a pedestrian was threatened. I was kind of fueled by my enthusiasms.”

While Hunt won, Davis, tongue-in-cheek, cried foul, lightheartedly suggesting that Hunt cheated and that his riding style is exactly the kind of behavior that gets motorists riled up. The whole brouhaha created quite the online firestorm, with a few folks chastising Hunt for his inappropriate riding.

Davis, a former race car driver, told me this week he thought it was “obvious” that his chiding of Hunt “was just playful.” The only Hunt maneuver that miffed Davis came when Hunt zoomed off from the UNCA starting line when the bus was just coming down the hill and hadn’t stopped.

One racer was riding the bus, and the competition was supposed to begin when the bus stopped.

As far as Hunt’s wrong-way riding and sidewalk usage, Davis said he was sitting at a light at Merrimon and Woodfin when Hunt zoomed by on his left, went the wrong way in the oncoming traffic lane, got on the sidewalk and cut through a bank, securing his victory.

“That would irritate anybody watching,” Davis said, referring to motorists who get miffed by aggressive cyclists. He stressed that no traffic was in the oncoming lane, though.

I also asked Davis about the allegation that Hunt stretched the truth on the Pack Place issue. Davis said he was in the closed session meeting Hunt referenced, and Hunt did indeed have the council’s approval to make the request of the Pack Place board.

“It was not a definitive action, but it pretty well was the consensus around the room — not a formal motion but a nod of the head thing — to get on with it,” Davis said. “The Pack Place board has been very ineffective in resolving the issues with the Art Museum and other tenants.”

The bottom line is Davis doesn’t regard Hunt as a cheater, either in his council actions or on the bike.

Hunt would agree, although he acknowledged he got carried away by his competitive nature on the bike and is “embarrassed” by his riding that day. But he’s not giving up his crown, mainly because, “There is no crown,” he said with a laugh.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com